


Crash

by err4tic



Category: SHINee
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-23
Updated: 2020-02-23
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:35:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22923415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/err4tic/pseuds/err4tic
Summary: The night is young, the Christmas party is in full swing, and the booze is free-flowing. Kim Kibum, the lone wolf, is determined to get smashed.
Relationships: Choi Minho & Kim Jonghyun, Kim Kibum | Key/Lee Jinki | Onew
Comments: 8
Kudos: 24
Collections: Winter of SHINee





	Crash

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: A is stuck at his huge company’s holiday party. What’s worse than a company holiday party with coworkers that are too holiday ready for their own good? The answer is accidentally drinking too much of the mulled wine (“It’s on the company’s card! Who cares!”) and falling into a handsome stranger’s lap. A makes a fool of himself but B plays it off sweetly and even sends some signal his way. A seems to think that’s it and just dreams sweetly but A is drenched in a cold sweat when B is sitting in the head office a week later as his newly appointed boss.
> 
> Required Content: Flirting, Flustered A, Suits
> 
> Absolute No’s: Drunken non-con stuff

"Dear God. If I hear "All I want for Christmas is you" one more time, I am going to scream. And you can't stop me."

Cue the DJ hired for the company's Christmas party putting the offending track on play. 

"Fuuuuu..." A hand none-too-gently slammed down to stifle Kibum's infuriated yell. "Kibum-ah. This happens once every year. Could you not relax for just one bit?"

"Lskdfjglkhv." Kibum incoherently murmured through Minho's hand as his narrowed eyes glared threateningly at the offending man.

"Nope. Not gonna let you go until you promise to behave... ouch! Dammit, Kibum!" Minho roared, pulling his bitten hand back and nursing it close to his chest. Kibum quirked up a slashed eyebrow and smiled challengingly at his legal department colleague/best friend, who was admittedly looking like old-school Hollywood royalty in his dark blue, slim-fitting, double-breasted Givenchy suit that perfectly suited his tall, lithe athletic build.

"You could warn a body like a civilized fellow, you know. I'll sue you for assault upon my person."

"Whatever, Mr. Hotshot Attorney. You attacked me first."

"Well, excuse me for trying to keep the Christmas spirit alive." 

"Better have that bite checked out for rabies, babe." A platinum blond man rebelliously wearing a black gold-buttoned gakuran, wifebeaters, shredded jeans and heavy boots to the formal event appeared beside the pair. 

"Jonghyunie-hyung!” Kibum whined at the newcomer. “You're my teammate, so you're supposed to take my side. Take your man away, please!" 

Kim Jonghyun grinned up at Kibum and fist-bumped his boyfriend. "Nah. He takes precedence on account of his conjugal rights."

Minho smirked and snuck an arm around the smaller man's waist. "Babe, I love it when you do legal talk. Mind if I enforce my conjugal rights later?" 

Kibum made a gagging sound. 

Jonghyun rolled his eyes. "Stuff it, Kib. It's Christmas. We're allowed to be as cheesy as we like." To emphasize, the petite man stood on tiptoe, while his boyfriend leaned down to receive the kiss with a smile on his face.

Kibum rolled his eyes at the disgusting display. "I'm way too sober for this shit."

Jonghyun waved him away while still making out with his boyfriend, and then called out, "Go forth and be merry, my dear padawan. Don't let that Tom Ford ensemble go to waste, and don't do what I wouldn't." 

Minho chimed in, "You're not allowed to do me, though." Then, crow laugh.

"You're a pig, Choi Minho," he retorted while walking away from the sickeningly sweet couple. 

The smile on his face faded as he widened the distance between him and the couple. How in the world was he going to tell them?

With a heavy sigh, Kibum made his way through the rowdy crowd aka his company colleagues in full drunken revelry on the hotel ballroom floor to the (hopefully well-stocked) open bar.

If he weren't mistaken, he was only 15 minutes late and pretty much everyone was already wasted and unruly. An overly hyper couple with a total disregard for other people while they were dancing and making out barreled into him, causing him to become inelegantly deposited across the lap of an unfortunate person sitting at one of the tables closest to the floor. 

He murmured an absentminded apology to the guy and sent a hard glare toward the blissfully unaware couple as he walked away. "I give them a month." 

At 27, Kibum knew that he's way too young to be so cynical about love and dating, but he couldn't help his views after having witnessed many of his friends' relationships fall by the wayside in the past year alone. As for himself, his work was way too demanding for anything permanent. A one-night playmate was easy enough to find when the need arose.

But there were times when he envied what those two goofballs had: a domestic arrangement, a comic bromance filled with shared interest in sports and good-natured bickering, and a pornworthy sex life (if Jonghyun were to be believed) all rolled into one. If he were being honest with himself, he would say that he envied the warmth of being in a loving romantic relationship with a friend the most. He wondered at times what it would be like to have someone like that to come home to. 

_You have more things to worry about than your love life, Kibum_ . With another sigh, he said to the bartender, "I suppose it would be too much to ask if you have some Hibiki 17 years." _Fuck it, it's Christmas. I'm getting royally smashed._

"Good choice. And they actually have it here." 

Kibum was shocked at how the company was generous enough to provide the booze despite the hefty price tag. However, he wasn't exactly in the mood to talk about it. He surveyed the newcomer from the corner of his eye. Medium height, that odd mix of slim and stocky, mahogany hair, handsome enough face. His voice sounded nice. The man appeared absorbed in reading the labels on the booze cabinet out loud (correctly, Kibum noted), then continued, "I actually prefer that one. I like smoky whiskeys like Laphroig more than the sweet ones." He apparently knew his liquor. 

Kibum turned his attention back to the bartender, who nodded his head. "I'll have a double, neat, please." He tried to ignore the newcomer. 

"I'd buy you this drink, but it's already on the company tab." 

Eyeroll.

After downing his drink in one go, he signaled the bartender for a refill. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the man was still there drinking water, which was odd considering how he seemed into liquors earlier.

He had to laud the man's persistence, though. Kibum was just about to finally tell him off when the guy suddenly laughed and said in a rueful tone, "Ok, that was lame and probably a little creepy. I'm really bad at this, and this wasn't exactly the first impression that I wanted you to have of me. I apologize."

Curiosity piqued against his will because of the unexpected admission, Kibum looked at the man properly for the first time and almost staggered when hit full force by the self-deprecating grin that transformed the man's face from pleasantly handsome to heart-stoppingly radiant. That's so not fair. 

_Dear God, what are you?_

"I'm Onew, not God," the man said with a surprisingly shy smile on his face (considering how douchey he was being earlier), and Kibum realized that he had spoken aloud. It took all his strength to keep himself from doing a facepalm.

The man called Onew continued, "I saw you when you arrived, and I really wanted to meet you."

Unnerved by his stupefied reaction to the man's smile, Kibum sipped on his drink to ground himself and then deliberately took the outstretched hand. "Kibum." His mind scrambled for something else to say. _Think, Kibum, think!_ "Do you work here?" _DO YOU WORK HERE?_ _  
_ _  
_ His mind was a headless chicken.  
  
_You could have asked him about his weird name, you know._

Onew let out a little chuckle (so potent, much to Kibum's dismay and delight) and said, "You could say that I'm with tonight's staff." _Pretty well-dressed for staff_ , he thought as he eyed the other man's well-fitted suit, which tailoring and fit evidently screamed Dior to Kibum's experienced eye. He also didn't just totally check out the man's physique. Nope. 

Before Kibum could say another word, he heard a message alert. The other man took out his phone and glanced at the screen. "I really have to go, but I'll look for you again later, ok?" 

Kibum couldn't think of anything else to say but "Ok."

It was totally unheard of, Kibum being unable to think of anything clever to say. He's not sure how to feel about it. 

***

Kim Kibum is not really a fan of surprises. He likes planning and ticking off check lists and organization. At times, it's even a point of pride that his meetings with other people were perfectly orchestrated. Even his one-night stands were carefully selected and deliberately homed and locked in, complete with background checks. 

However, the second surprise of the evening (the first being his unusual reaction to a stranger) came in the form of said stranger sitting down in front of a grand piano wheeled into the center of the dance floor when the DJ took his break. 

At first, he thought it was just his alcohol-addled mind (after about four refills of his fine whiskey) playing tricks on him, but there he was, that incandescent dude in his heather gray Dior suit blinding everyone with his smile under that spotlight, and then he was addressing the company crowd in the warmest voice that Kibum's ever heard. 

"Hi, I'm Onew. Your company bosses were nice enough to invite me although I'm not really that good." Then, a slight chuckle that sent shivers up and down Kibum's spine. "Even so, I'm glad to be here, and although I'm pretty sure you'd rather be dancing to EDM or pop music so masterfully churned out by our awesome DJ, DJ Koo," he motioned to the bald man, who bowed at the smattering of applause and cheers, "I hope you could enjoy my set." Then, he settled his hands on the piano and went to town. 

Onew was more than an adequate piano player. He was gifted enough that he got most of the primarily millenial workforce on their feet trying to dance to an eclectic mix of Sinatra, the Beegees, Disney, Hyukoh and EXO, even having them attempt waltzing to Louis Armstrong. However, despite being a good dancer himself and having numerous colleagues try to drag him to the dance floor, Kibum felt no such compulsion to join the writhing bodies on the floor and was perfectly content to be sitting by the bar and be lulled into somnolence by the man's voice, which felt like a flannel blanket, a hot cocoa, and a hug by the fire on a frigid day. 

To clear his head, Kibum asked for cold water. Not that it helped that much to curtail the teenage-like crushing on the other guy, but it did serve to slightly wake him up from his disorientation. It definitely did nothing to dispel his growing fascination for the man.

The third surprise came when Onew started asking people for requests. After performing another two Christmas songs and downing several sips from a champagne flute that he so elegantly perched on top of the piano, Jinki laughingly read out from a piece of paper, "This song is for Kibum of Marketing, who is an absolute Grinch. Hope this sweet Christmas song will sweeten your temper somewhat." 

_Those knuckleheads_ , Kibum seethed, and he felt his cheeks burning on top of his alcohol-induced flush.

Amidst the laughs and giggles, Jinki looked up from the request, and his eyes met Kibum's across the room. Then, the dude launched into a jazzy rendition of All I Want for Christmas is You, leaving Kibum annoyed, amused, and awestruck. And just the slightest bit horny. 

"You think he's cute." Kibum unsteadily looked around to see who made the comment in order to correct them. Cute sounded too tame. He glanced toward the pianist and found him doing a duet with one of the matriarchs of the company. Internal squee alert. 

He saw nobody in his immediate vicinity who was paying him any sort of attention and so thought that he was just hearing things. 

"Pretty sure he thinks the same of you, too." 

"What are you…" he whirled around to find a bottle of water in front of him. 

He looked up at the new bartender, who was busy cutting up some limes during the lull in people placing their orders. 

"You need it. Drink." Kibum found himself transfixed at how nimble those small hands were, then shook his head to clear it somewhat. As if hypnotized, he unscrewed the bottle cap and drank about half of the contents. 

"Good boy. I know you're young and all, but you really shouldn't be drinking that much, especially if it's the good stuff." He flashed Kibum a half smile. "The good stuff is meant to be savored."

 _Who in the world is this kid?_ If anything, the bartender looked younger than he was and thus should not be speaking informally to him. Kibum was about to open his mouth again when the other said, "You might want to look out for a tree." 

_Huh?_

"Ok, Bummie, spill. I saw you and that piano player. Man, the sexual tension. Whew."

Kibum swiveled away from the odd non-conversation to face Jonghyun, who had this wolfish grin on his face. 

"Bummie’s mad at you, by the way. Thanks for the request.” Kibum sarcastically replied.  
  
“Anything for you, doll. Did you get his number yet?”  
  
“He went poof! Bummie hasn’t seen him again,” he whined dramatically. “Bummie's wasting away heeeeere!” He turned back to the counter, quietly chuckling at his own theatrics, and carefully sipped on his - tenth? twentieth? - refill. “So, where's your better half?" 

Jjong waved a languid hand toward no particular direction. "He's out there somewhere. Obligatory department photo with the bosses, I think." 

He giggled. "Obligatory photos? People are going to look so wasted." Good thing their department was one of the first ones to have their photos taken. He shuddered at the thought of tipsy Kibummie with his Asian flush in the holiday EDMs they'll be sending out to his clients. Yikes.

The implication took longer to register on the other man. "Oh, shit! Mailchimp!"

Kibum patted the other man’s arm. “Don’t worry. Your man would look good even in a sack, nobody would pay attention if he’s slightly ruddy when he’s got all that going on.” He vaguely motioned his hand down his body.  
  
Jonghyun relaxed visibly. “You’re right. And he’s good in the sack, too,” he sighed dreamily.  
  
“Ew, Jjongie, I didn’t need to know that.” 

There was a time when he did wonder about it, but that ship has long sailed.

Kibum sighed, the thought sobering him up some. He must be really drunk to be thinking of that again. 

“Get you a man and brag about him, then, so that we’re even.”

Kibum waved dismissively at the other guy and headed out onto the dance floor, suddenly struck by the urge to dance. “Too much mess. No, thanks.” Thank goodness the DJ was spinning hardcore EDM by this time, so he could stop thinking. 

Then, from out of nowhere, the same damn couple from earlier came crashing into him again. A pair of hands dragged him out of the way before he became a casualty yet again.

Kibum found himself in the arms of the person he was trying not to look for. Onew was looking at the couple with a slight frown, and then he turned his attention to Kibum and asked in a gentle voice laced with concern, “Are you alright?”

“Yes, now that you’re here,” Kibum blurted out without thinking. His embarrassing gaffe, however, was rewarded when the other man blushed a bit. Both became aware that they were practically hugging and sprang apart. 

“Seriously, though, that couple should wear one of those road signs so that accident-prone people could avoid them.” 

“You meant me?”

Onew laughed sheepishly. “No. I meant me.’

“Really?” 

“I actually need to be wearing one of those, too. And maybe have airbags installed in my clothing or something?” He pantomimed one exploding. 

Kibum laughed giddily from the alcohol, the mental image, and the close proximity of the man he was eyeing all evening. “Really? At least you saved me from a fall this time instead of causing an accident. I wasn’t so lucky earlier.” 

“Um… actually, you landed on my lap earlier. So technically, I rescued you from the floor.”

Kibum stared at him for a moment, uncomprehending.  
  
“One month?”

Kibum slapped a hand over his mouth in realization. “You’re… oh, I am so sorry!” He bowed deeply and ended up staggering when he straightened up. The other man reached out a hand to steady him.

Onew shook his head vigorously. "No, no, don't! It's okay!" Then, with a slight chuckle, he said, “Don’t worry about it. I’m glad my general person was available to keep you out of harm’s way.”

 _Lord, where are my shades? I'm going blind here!_ Kibum may have yelped a bit.

"Right, right. You did. Thank you." 

Silence descended between the two. 

"You're really good out there."

"I didn't see you dancing, though."

"Ah. I wanted to focus on your performance."

"Ah. Thank you."

Crickets. But the silence wasn't awkward; it was expectant. 

Jinki looked over Kibum's shoulder. "I think your friend is looking for you."

Kibum looked behind him and saw Minho walking purposefully toward him. 

"Kibum, I've been looking all over for you." He took one look at Jinki and held out his hand. "Choi Minho. You were awesome, man."

The other man smiled and extended his hand. "Onew."

"Would you mind if I borrowed Kibum for a second?" 

Onew smiled at Kibum. "I'll talk to you later, ok?" He slightly bowed toward Minho and walked away toward the DJ booth, with Kibum following him with his eyes. After a while, he faced Minho, who was looking at him with a stony expression. 

"What?" Kibum asked with a defensive tone. 

"You're transferring offices?"

"Ah. That."

"Yes, that," Minho mimicked his tone. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Kibum shrugged. "It's no big deal. They needed someone in the new office with my skillset. They offered a raise. It's a smaller section, so hopefully the stress levels would be lower. I couldn't say no."

Minho ran an agitated hand through his hair. "Okay. That explains why you're transferring. Not why you didn't tell me."

Kibum pinched the bridge of his nose. He really should have listened to that bartender and hydrated more. 

At that moment, he rather desperately wished he was with Onew instead.

"I told you, it's not a big deal. It's not like I'm switching careers or moving to the countryside for this job."

"That's across the city!"

"So? My flat's right between our office and the new one."

"But you don't know-"

"Minho," Kibum interrupted. "Can't you just wish me luck? I'm doing this for me, nobody else. Not for any other reason."

He looked up at Minho and read the uncertainty in his eyes. "Don't worry, okay? I'll be fine." 

Silence. 

"When do you start there?"

"Right after new year's."

"That soon?!?" Minho was obviously struggling to not get angry again, and Kibum heard the invectives he did not say.

"They need me for the launch."

Minho exhaled very slowly. "Fine. Don't call me crying when you have no one to lunch with," Minho injected a joking tone, but Kibum could read his eyes. 

Kibum laughed archly, "You wish! You know I make friends fast."

"Does Jonghyun know?" 

Kibum shrugged. "I think the boss intends to announce it on my last day. He'll know then." He sends a hard look up at Minho. 

The taller man sighed. "Okay, okay. I won't tell him." 

"Thanks, Minho. You know how he'll cry, and I don't want you to deal with that."

"You know he'll be crying regardless of when he finds out, right?"

Kibum shook his head, and reached out to cup Minho's cheek. "I'll miss you, too." He backed away. "Now excuse me while I go find an unoccupied restroom to yak in."

Instead of the nearest restroom, Kibum made his way to the cloakroom to get his padding and coat. He stepped out into the cold winter night, blind to all the Christmas lights and wishing for the wind to freeze his tears and his heart. 

_Merry Christmas, Kibum._

***

Kibum managed to avoid his two best friends at work as he spent the last week of the year endorsing his workload and his clients to his superior. Besides, either Minho didn't exactly keep his word or he must have heard it elsewhere, but after a few overtures that Kibum tried his best to ignore, Jonghyun was also avoiding him, which made it easy. 

Playing hide and seek, that is. The broken heart? Not so much.

He did know he'd be friends with them again... just not then.

Despite the heartache of that night, thoughts of that piano player with the radiant smile cheered him up somewhat.

His first day at his new job was easy enough. Just like he said to Minho, he made friends with his new colleagues, who started at the company on the same day as him. Their office had an open layout, and with the small team, the collaborative atmosphere and all the new bloods, Kibum was feeling excited about his job after a long, long time. His supervisor, Lee Jaekyun, was more like a mentor than a boss, and Kibum couldn't be happier. 

He was asking his office mates where the good lunch spots were when Jaekyun announced that they were having a team lunch to welcome everyone on the team. 

"Yeeeees!" Kibum cheered along with the others as they started wrapping up to take their lunch break. They walked about a block from their office to a fried chicken place because "the big boss likes this fried chicken above all things," Jaekyun said as an introduction. They were instructed to order whatever, even beer, if they wanted. 

Kibum was happily munching on a drumstick when the door to the restaurant opened and Jaekyun called out a greeting to the newcomer. "Team, this is our Yoo Shi-Jin. Look, he even looks like Song Joongki. And he had just recently returned from Greece just before Christmas and has been playing around since." 

The newcomer chuckled, saying in laughing defense of himself, "Lee _timjang_ , I've been working, too!" and Kibum thought he was imagining things. 

"Our big boss, Lee Jinki _daepyonim_." 

Kibum bowed and straightened up to meet the startled eyes of Onew. 

_What?_

***

He was silent all throughout lunch, trying to sift through his memories if he did something he should be embarrassed of that night. He did walk out before they could exchange their details. 

Most of all, he was still feeling overwhelmed at that surge of warmth in his chest when, after recovering from his surprise, Lee Jinki threw him this eye smile that he found himself at a loss for words to describe. 

After lunch, he received an email from the big boss, asking him to report to his office at 3 pm. 

_Shit._ Maybe he did something regrettable, after all. 

After taking a deep breath, Kibum knocked at the director's office. Immediately, Lee Jinki opened the door and ushered him in, indicating for him to sit on the L-shaped sofa. The director sat on the other side of the same sofa. 

Nobody said anything for a few moments. Kibum, unable to stand the silence any longer, stood up and bowed. " _Daepyonim_ , thank you for welcoming me as part of this team. I'll do my best." 

"No, thank you for joining us, Kibum-ssi. Lee Jaekyun _timjang_ has assured me that you were exactly what we needed, and I'd like to thank you personally for making the sacrifice of leaving the head office to help us out."

Kibum shook his head. "Not at all, sir. It was my pleasure."

"How do you find the work so far?" 

"I've barely started, but I think I could see myself growing here."

"That's good to know."

Silence. Kibum could hear his pulse. 

"First things first..." In the line of sight of Kibum's downbent head, Lee Jinki slid something. Kibum focused on the item, and then his eyes flew up to meet Jinki's in surprise. 

He picked up the Polaroid of him and Jinki looking into each other's eyes in what looked like an embrace, with a Christmas tree as a background. 

"This is... Oh, my God. Are you being blackmailed? I am so sorry, I had too much to drink that night…"

"Kibum-"

"If you want to fire me, I'll completely understand…"

"KIBUM!" 

Jinki's voice finally pierced through Kibum's agitated monologue. He immediately stopped. 

He looked up at Jinki, who was smiling at him gently.

"Turn it over."

Kibum followed his instruction and stared. 

_Please help me decorate my Christmas tree like this. 010-759-XXXX.- Lee Jinki/Onew_

"The blond bartender gave me this. I wanted to give it to you then, but you were already gone." 

_That little shit!_ Then, _Thanks, hydration fairy._

He heard Jinki clearing his throat. "So. What do you say? 

Kibum looked up into Jinki's uncertain, earnest eyes. Then he started chuckling. 

Jinki looked bewildered. 

"Yah! What is this? This was even cheesier than your pickup line back then! And besides, Christmas is already over." 

Jinki met Kibum's gaze and said, a slow smile forming in his eyes, "Um… there's always next year…?"

"YAH!" 

끝

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Questions? :D


End file.
